DATE: November 17, 2021
CONTACT: Diane Richardson
Media Relations Office
(301) 609-6557 or (240) 682-1658
On October 8, 2021, a male suspect arranged to meet the victim after conversing with them through a social media app. They met on a street at a location in Charles County, at which time the suspect pulled out a gun and stole the victim’s vehicle. The suspect fled and the victim called the police. Detectives subsequently identified the suspect as Erion Vann Burton, 20, of Waldorf and obtained an arrest warrant.
A computer check revealed that at the time of the October carjacking, Burton was supposed to be on electronic monitoring. He had been arrested in August of 2020 for an unrelated carjacking case and after he was indicted in June of 2020 for an unrelated second-degree rape. He was initially held without bond for those two crimes.
In April of 2021, a judge released Burton from the Detention Center to electronic monitoring which is managed by private companies. Monitoring companies report directly to the courts and are regulated by the Maryland Department of Public Safety.
Burton failed to appear in court in September for the initial carjacking case and the rape case, at which time the courts issued a warrant for failure to appear and notified the Sheriff’s Office. Members of the Warrant Unit began searching for Burton.
On November 7, a Charles County Sheriff’s patrol officer initiated a traffic stop and located Burton inside the vehicle. Burton was in possession of a fully-loaded polymer “ghost” gun–a gun that lacks a serial number which is assembled by the user–with an extended clip for additional ammunition. He was arrested without incident and charged with the October 2021 carjacking, first-degree assault, second-degree assault, illegal possession of a firearm due to a previous felony conviction, and other related charges. The warrants for failure to appear were also served. He is currently being held at the Charles County Detention Center without bond. Detective Bringley is investigating.
The Charles County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) was accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc. (CALEA) in 2001 and has since earned the highest rating of Excellence. Established in 1658, the CCSO is one of the oldest law enforcement agencies in the United States. For more information, visit www.ccso.us.
Charles County Crime Solvers offers rewards of up to $1,000 for information that leads to the arrest or indictment of a person responsible for a crime in Charles County. All individuals who provide tips through Crime Solvers will remain anonymous. Anyone with information about an unsolved crime or the location of a fugitive may contact Charles County Crime Solvers by calling 1-866-411-TIPS. Tips can also be submitted online at www.charlescountycrimesolvers.com or by using the P3Intel mobile app, which can be found in the Android Store and Apple store by searching P3tips. For more information about the P3 program, click on this link: www.p3intel.com.